Coin-controlled vending-machine.



No. 690,926. Patented Jan. 14, I902. A. C. EAREY.

COIN CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE.

(Application filed Aug. '7, 1901.) I (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Shaw '1.

Tnz cams PETERS cu mom-umu, WASHINGTON u. c.

- Patented Jan. I4, I902. A. C. CAREY. COIN CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE.

(Ap plication filed Aug. 7, 1901.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

V wea Patented Jan. l4, I902. A. C. CAREY.

COIN CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE.

[Application filed Aug. 7, 1901.] (N 0 M 0 del.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 THE Noam: PEI'ENS co. PHOTDJ-ITHQ, WASHINGTON, n. c.

Warren TrtTns PATENT Trie AUGUSTUS O. CAREY, OF LAKE PLEASANT,MASSACHUSETTS.

COIN-CONTROLLED VENDING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 69 dated n a y 14,1902- Application filed August 7, 1901. Serial No. 71,231. (No model.)

To to whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AUGUSTUS C. CAREY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lake Pleasant, in the county of Franklin and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inCoin-Controlled Vending-Machines, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to that class of machines which are commonlyknown as coincontrolled vending machines or apparatus; and the primaryobject of the invention is to provide such a machine which can bemanipulated only when a coin of a predetermined denomination and size isused and which will be locked against operation when a dummy or piece ofmetal or other article of less thickness than the predetermined coin isinserted in the machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a machine in whichthe coin can be inserted when the operating-lever is pulled or presseddown without affecting the operation of the machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a machine in whichthe working parts are fully exposed to View; and a further object of theinvention is to provide such a machine with means to prevent theinsertion of coins and other and injurious articles in the slots of themachine when the machine is closed over night and at other times whenthe machine is intended not to do business or in the absence of anattendant.

The invention consists of a coin-controlled vending-machine having apusher, an operating-lever therefor, and a bracket upon which said partsare mounted, the said parts being so constructed and arranged withrelation to each other as to form a coin'catcher, whereby the coin iscaused to effect the engagement of the operating-lever with the pusher.

The invention also consists in providing the pusher-operating lever withan arm or extension working between the slot of the machine and thecoin-catcher, whereby when the operating-lever is pressed or pulled downthe said arm or extension will lie in the path of the coin to the coincatcher and will support or hold the coin in such position and permit itto drop into the coin-catcher when the le vcr is released.

The invention also consists of a coin-controlled vending-machine inwhich the pusheroperating mechanism is so constructed, combined, andarranged that all of the working parts of such mechanism may be exposedto view at the front of the machine and their movements and workingclearly observed.

The invention also consists in the combination, with a coincontrolledvending-machine, of a movable or detachable cover for the slots orcoin-openings of such machine adapted to be locked or secured in placeover such openings or slots by the door of the machine or ap paratus.

The invention also consists in other details of construction andcombination of parts, all as I will proceed now more particularly to setforth and finally claim.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, in the severalfigures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is aperspective view of my machine. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section, on alarger scale, taken substantially on the line 2 2, Fig. 4, and lookingin the direction of the arrows. Fig. 3 is a vertical section showing inelevation one side of the pusher-operating mechanism, and Fig. 4 is asimilar view showing in elevation the other side of the pusher-operatingmechanism. Fig. 5 is a side elevation, on a larger scale, of thepusher-operating mechanism, showing in dotted lines the position ofparts when the lever is depressed upon the insertion of a coin of properdimensions; and Fig. 6 is an elevation, on a larger scale, of thereverse side of the pusher-operating mechanism, showing in dotted linesthe position of parts when the lever is depressed upon the insertion ofa dummy or piece of metal of less thickness than the predeterminedc'oin. Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the pusher-operating mechanism,and Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the slot-coverer.

In carrying out my invention I provide a case of any approvedconstruction, and, as shown in Fig. 1, the case preferably isconstructed of an upper portion 1 to contain a suitable number of chutesor receptacles for the articles to be delivered, and a lower portion 2,which is extended to form a ledge 3 and in which ledge the coin openingsor slots 4 are arranged at suitable distances apart and in numbercorresponding to the number of article chutes or receptacles. The lowerportion of the case also contains the pusheroperating mechanism and thecoin-drawer 5, to be presently described. The upper portion of the caseis provided at its front with a door 6, which, as herein shown, ishinged to one side of the ease and swings outwardly, although the doormay be otherwise constructed. As shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4:, the bottomedge of the door does not extend to the ledge 3, there being a slightspace left between the lower edge of the door and the ledge for thepassage of the articles to be delivered and also which serves a furtherpur pose of my invention, to be presently described. The door is alsoprovided with a panel 7 to receive printed directions oradvertisingmatter and also with a glass panel 8 at its lower edge,through which the articles may be observed and distinguished.

Within the case and arranged between the door 6 and the back of the caseand mounted upon the ledge 3 is a slotted standard 9, in the slots ofwhich the pushers hereinafter described are adapted to work in theoperation of pushing the article from the chute or receptacle, thebottom article of the pile of articles resting upon said standard. (Seeparticularly Figs. 1, 3, and 4.)

The pusher mechanism comprises a bracket having a base-plate a, adaptedto be mounted upon a board b, secured within and to the back of thecase, the said bracket also having an outwardly-extending or right-anglearm a at its lower end, and at its upper end the said bracket isprovided with an outwardly-extending or right-angle arm a the said arm abeing constructed at its outer end with a series of fingers a and M, thesaid fingers a being bent or curved upwardly and prises a lever c,pivoted at its lower end, as

at c, to the arm a of the bracket a, and this lever 0 extends up throughthe slot a in the arm a and is provided at its upper end With anelongated head 0 adapted to engage the article and force the same fromits chute or receptacle. Rigidly secured to the lever 0,. aboutcentrally and just above the arm a of the bracket a, is an arm aconstructed as a yoke and provided at its outer end with downwardprojections o upon opposite sides. The arm or yoke o is cut away at itsouter end (see Fig. 7) to form a passage for the pusher-operating lever,and thereby permit a free movement of said lever when depressed withouteffecting the operation of the pusher when there has been no coininserted in the machine. The arm or yoke is cut away just suffleient toallow of this movement of the pusher-operating lever and to provideinwardly-extending flanges 0 about said cutaway portion, for a purposepresently appearing. This arm or yoke is also provided upon its insideand near its outer end and adjacent the downward projections c withinwardlyprojecting lugs or ridges 0, (see Figs. 2 and 6 arrangedopposite each other, the said arm or yoke 0 being also provided at itsouter end with a projection 0 having upon its inner under side anundercut shoulder a (See Fig.6.) A coiled spring d is secured to the armor yoke 13 at one end, about midway said arm or yoke, and at its otherend the said spring is secured to a screw or stud fastened to the arm aor to the bracket a. This spring normally tends to keep the pusher andits attached yoke in a retracted position.

The pusher-operating lever comprises an arm a, pivoted at e to the outerend of the arm a of the bracket a, which lever then extends upwardly atsubstantially right angles, as at e and extends between the fingers a (rot the arm a and terminates at its upper end in an elongated curvedportion e which portion e extends rearwardly toward the pusherlever cand through the enlargement a of the slot a in the arm (1 and at itsforward end is provided with a shoulder e for a purpose presentlyappearing. Also secured to or made integral with the pusher-operatinglever is a rearwardly-extending arm 6 provided at its outer end with anantifriction device and adapted to contact with the pusherlever o tothereby limit the rearward movement of the pusher-operating lever. Acoiled springfis secured at one end to the arm 6 of the pusher-operatinglever and at its other end is connected to the bracket a, which springnormally tends to keep the pusher-operating lever in a retractedposition.

The arm 01 with its fingers a and a the outer or free end of the arm oryoke c of the pusher-lever c, and the upwardly-extending arm 6 of thepusher-operating lever e are so combined and arranged as to form acoincatcher-that is to say, the fingers a form the bottom of saidcoin-catcher, while the curved fingers a embrace the outer walls of theyoke. The outer end of the arm or yoke 0 forms the sides and one end ofsaid catcher, and the projection or shoulder e of the arm 6 and the lugs0 form the other end of said catcher when the parts are in their normalposition. (See Figs. 2 and 6.) These parts are so arranged within thecase that the said coin-catcher will lie just beneath the coinslot andin the path of travel of the coin inserted in the slot. A staple g orother suitable device (see Figs. 3 and 4.) maybe secured upon the underside of the ledge 3, to the rear of the coin opening or slot, andthereby assist in directing the coin into the coin-catcher.

The coin-drawer 5 is fitted to slide in the bottom of the ease, and inorder to lock said drawer I have provided novel means consisting of asliding bolt h, constructed of a thin fiat piece of metal provided atits upper end with a right-angle extension to form a handle h and at itslower end with an outwardlybent hooked portion W. This bolt h isarranged within and at the back of the case and is preferably held inplace and guided in its movements in a cut-out portion of the board I).The handle h of the bolt h extends over the article chutes orreceptacles Within reach of the operator or attendant when the door isopen. The hooked end it of the bolt h when depressed is adapted toengage the rear wall or end of'the drawer 5, thereby to lock the drawerin place.

In order to prevent the insertion of coins and other and injuriousarticles in the slots of the machine when the machine is closed overnight and it is not intended to do business, I have provided a cover forthe slots of the machine adapted to be locked in place by the door ofthe machine. This cover in its preferred form consists of an elongatedrightangular block 2' of wood or any other suitable material. (Seeparticularly Figs. 1, 3, 4, and 8.) The base portion of thisrightangular block is made somewhat wider than the perpendicular portionand is adapted to be placed over the slots of the machine when the door6 is open, and when the door is closed the rear face of the lower edgeof the door will engage the thicker and perpendicular portion of saidright-angular block, and when the door is locked the said block will besecurely held in place, and thereby conceal the slots of the machine.

As will be observed in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and i, the arms e of thepusher-operating levers extend through slots or openingsj in the frontof the lower portion of the case and are provided at their extendedportions with fingerpieces e adapted to be engaged by the fingers inmanipulating the machine. It will be ob served also that by theconstruction, combination, and arrangement of the several parts of thepusher-operating mechanism they are brought very closely together andare very compact, and in order to expose to view the operation ormovements of the several parts of said pusher-operating mechanism 1 haveprovided the front lower portion of the case, just in front of thepusher-operating mechanism, with a glass panel 76. So, also, it will beobserved that the bracket 0. and its arms a and a form a single integraldevice upon which the pusher and the pusher-operating lever are mounted,and by this construction and arrangement it is only necessary to removethe fastening devices of the bracket in order to take out all the partsof the pusheroperating mechanism in case it is necessary to remove saidmechanism for repairs or other purposes.

I have herein shown the machine provided with four pusher-operatingmechanisms; but it is obvious that the machine may be constructed withas many such mechanisms as may be desired, and all of such mechanismsbeing alike I have described in detail only one of such mechanisms.

The coin-slots and the coin-catcher and operating methanism areconstructed for the insertion and operation, respectively, only of andby a coin of a predetermined size and thickness.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The machine having beenfilled with the articles which it is intended to deliver, a coin of thepredetermined size and thickness, having been placed in one of theslots, will fall through such slot and will be caught by the coin-catcher. The pusher-operating lever is then depressed, and its. upperend or shoulder e will impinge against the coin and force it against thefront of the arm or yoke 0", thereby effectually locking the yoke andlever together. Upon further pressure upon the lever the yoke, andconsequently the pusher, will be drawn forward, and during this movementthe projection e of the pusher-operating lever will ride or slide uponthe coin until it reaches a point above the undercut shoulder a of theyoke and also above the edge of the coin, when the coin will be releasedto fall into the drawer, it having been carried beyond the fingers a ofthe arm a The lever and yoke are thus left in sliding engagement, (seedotted lines, Fig. 5,) and upon a further depression of the lever thepusher will be brought forward to discharge the article from the chuteor receptacle. (See dotted lines, Fig. 4:.) Thelever is then releasedand the parts returned to their normal position by the springs d andf.Should a dummy or a piece of metal or other substance of less thicknessthan the predetermined coin be inserted in the machine and the leverdepressed, it will be caught in between the lever and the front of theyoke and will lie beneath the undercut shoulder c of the yoke, and uponfurther pressure upon the lever its end or shoulder a will ride or slideupon the dummy until the said shoulder or projection 6 comes intoengagement with the said undercut shoulder c of the yoke. The dummy willthen be released or not released, and the lever and yoke will remainlocked against further movement on account of the difference in the arcsof movement of the lever and yoke. The parts thus become locked beforethe pusherhas been moved far enough to discharge the article. The leveris then released and the parts returned to their normal position by thesprings 63 and f, as before described. Should the dummy remain in thecoin-catcher, it can be hooked out by passing a small wire hook throughan opening 10 in the ledge 3 just in front of the coin-slots, (see Figs.1, 3, and 4,) which operation may be observed through the glass panel7r. Should the lever be depressed before the coin is inserted, its upperand elongated curved end e passes through the coincatcher and remains inthe passage to the such a position that upon the release of the lever itwill be permitted to drop into the coin-catcher ready for themanipulation of the machine upon again depressing the lever, and thusthe difficulty of locking the machine to against operation by thepremature depression of the lever before the insertion of the coin isavoided.

When it is desired to remove the coins from.

the drawer 5, it is only necessary to open the :5 front door of the caseand raise the bolt 72 by its handle h, thus raising the hooked end kabove the rear wall of the drawer, when the drawer may be pulled out.

When the machine is left over night and at other times when the machineis not intended to do business and is without an attendant, the covereror block i is placed upon the ledge 3 over the coin slots or openingsand its perpendicular portion forced back against the standard 9, thedoor having been opened for this purpose. The door is again closed andlocked and the coverer thereby held in place against removal and servingto prevent the insertion of coins or other and injurious 0 articles inthe slots of the machine.

What I claim is 1; In a coin-controlled vending-machine, a case, apusher, an operating-lever therefor, and a single integral bracketadapted to be 5 secured within said case and upon which said pusher andoperating-lever are mounted, the said pusher, lever and bracket providedwith arms or extensions combined and arranged to form a coin-catcher,whereby the coin is caused to effect the engagement of theoperating-lever with the pusher, substantially as described.

2. In a coin-controlled vending-machine, a case, a single integralbracket adapted to be secured in said case, a pusher pivoted to saidbracket, and a pusher-operating lever also pivoted to said bracket, thesaid bracket, pusher and lever provided with arms or ex.- tensionscombined and arranged to form a coin-catcher, whereby the coin is causedto effect the engagement of the operating-lever with the pusher,substantially as described.

3. In a coin-controlled vending-machine, a case, a single integralbracket adapted to be secured in said case and having an arm ex tendingat substantially right angles therefrom, a pusher pivoted to saidbracket and provided with a yoke-shaped arm, and a pusher-operatinglever also pivoted to said bracket and having an extension arrangedadjacent the arms of said bracket and pusher to thereby form acoin-catcher, whereby the coin is caused to effect the engagement of thelever with the pusher, substantially as de- 6 5 scribed.

4. In a coin-controlled vending-machine, a pusher mechanism, comprisinga bracket having an armextending at substantially right angles therefromand terminating in a series of fingers, a pusher pivoted to said bracketand provided with a yoke-shaped arm havingits closed end terminating atand arranged above the fingers of the bracket-arm, and apusher-operating lever also pivoted to said bracket and having anupwardly-extending arm passing through said fingers and terminatingwithin the yoke-shaped arm, thereby forming a coin-catcher whereby thecoin is caused to effect the engagement of the lever .and pusher,substantially as described.

5. In a coin-controlled vending-machine, a pusher mechanism, comprisinga bracket having an arm extending at substantially right anglestherefrom and terminating in a series of fingers, a pusher pivoted tosaid bracket and provided with a yoke-shaped arm having its closed endterminating at and arranged above the fingers of the bracket arm andprovided with an undercut shoulder, and a pusher-operating lever alsopivoted to the bracket and having an extension passing through saidfingers and terminating within the yoke-shaped arm, thereby forming acoincatcher, and a shoulder or projection on said lever adapted toengage the undercut shoulder on the yoke-shaped arm when a dummy of lessthickness than the predetermined coin is' inserted in the machine, tothereby lock the pusher mechanism against operation, substantially asdescribed.

6. In a coin-contr0lled vending-machine, a pusher mechanism, comprisinga bracket having an arm extending at substantially right anglestherefrom and terminating in a series of fingers, a pusher pivoted tosaid bracket and provided with a yoke-shaped arm having its closed endterminating at and arranged adjacent the fingers of the bracket-arm, anda pusher-operating lever also pivoted to said bracket and having anupwardly-extending arm passing through said fingers and terminatingwithin the yoke-shaped arm, thereby forming a coin-catcher, and anextension on said lever adapted to pass into said coincatcher when thelever is depressed, substantially as and for the purpose described.

7. In a coin-controlled vending-machine, a pusher mechanism, comprisinga bracket having an arm extending at substantially right anglestherefrom and having a longitudinal slot and terminating in a series offingers, a pusher pivoted to said bracket and passing through said slotand provided with a yokeshaped arm having its closed end terminating atand arranged adjacent said fingers, and a pusher-operating lever alsopivoted to said bracket and having an upwardly-extending arm passingthrough said fingers and terminating in said yoke-shaped arm, therebyforming a coin-catcher, and an extension on said lever working in saidslot and passing through the coin-catcher when the lever is depressed,

substantially as and for the purpose described.

ceases- 8. In a coin-controlled vending-machine, a pusher mechanismcomprising a bracket having an arm extending at substantially rightangles therefrom and having a longitudinal slot and terminating in aseries of fingers, a pusher pivoted to said bracket and passing throughsaid slot and provided with a yokeshaped arm having its closed endterminating at and arranged adjacent said fingers,

and a pusher-operating lever also pivoted to said bracket and having anupwardlyextending arm passing through said fingers and terminating insaid yoke-shaped arm, thereby forming a coin-catcher, an extension onsaid lever working in said slot and passing through the coin-catcherwhen the lever is depressed, springs for retracting said pusher andlever, and an extension on said lever adapted to engage the pusher tolimit the rearward movement of said lever, substantially as described.

9. In a coin-controlled vending-machine, a case, a door therefor, andcoin slots or openings in said case adjacent said door, combined With aremovable slot-coverer, adapted to be secured in place over said slotswhen the door is closed, substantially as described.

10. In a coin-controlled vending-machine,

a case, a door therefor, and coin slots or openings in said case,combined with a right-angular block adapted to be placed over said slotsand engaged by said door to thereby lock said block in place,substantially as described. 11. In a coin-controlled vending-machine, acase, article chutes or receptacles, a pusheroperating mechanism withinsaid case, a drawer arranged at the bottom of said case below saidpusher mechanism, combined with a locking mechanism for said drawer,comprising a sliding bolt arranged within said case between the backthereof and the article chutes or receptacles and provided at its upperend with a handle extending over said article chutes or receptaclestoward the front of the case, and at its lower end adapted to engage therear wall of the drawer, to thereby lock the drawer in place,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 5th day of August,A. D. 1901.

AUGUSTUS O. CAREY. \Vitnesses:

NORRIS S. HENRY, L. E. HENRY.

